Bloch MB.480
{{Short description|French floatplane}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
| name=MB.480 | image= | caption= }}{{Infobox aircraft type | type=Torpedo-bomber/reconnaissance floatplane | national origin=France | manufacturer=Société des Avions Marcel Bloch | designer= | first flight=June 1939 | introduced= | retired= | status= | primary user= | more users= | produced= | number built=2 | program cost= | unit cost= | developed from= | variants with their own articles= }} |
The Bloch MB.480 was a French twin-engined torpedo-bomber/reconnaissance floatplane designed just before the start of the Second World War by Société des Avions Marcel Bloch. Only two were built, the French Navy deciding to use landplanes instead.
Design and development
In May 1937, the French Air Ministry placed an order with Société des Avions Marcel Bloch for two prototype floatplanes intended to fulfill a French Navy requirement for a twin-engined torpedo-bomber/reconnaissance floatplane. Bloch's design, the Bloch MB.480 was a low-winged monoplane that closely resembled the earlier Bloch MB.131 reconnaissance/bomber landplane.[http://www.dassault-aviation.com/en/passion/aircraft/military-bloch-aircraft/mb-480.html?L=1 Military Bloch aircraft:MB 480] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202120548/http://www.dassault-aviation.com/en/passion/aircraft/military-bloch-aircraft/mb-480.html?L=1 |date=2011-02-02 }}. Dassault Aviation. 2006. Retrieved 19 May 2010. It was powered by two 1,060 hp (791 kW) Gnome-Rhône 14N radial engines and carried a crew of five. Defensive armament was a 7.5 mm Darne machine gun in the nose and a ventral bath, while a 20 mm cannon was fitted in a powered dorsal mounting. A heavy load of bombs, torpedoes or auxiliary fuel tanks could be carried in an internal bomb bay.Green 1962, p. 10.
The first prototype made its maiden flight from Étang de Berre in June 1939. The aircraft's twin tail was raised to avoid spray on take-off and landing, and the tail fins were cropped to restore a good field of fire for the dorsal cannon after the tail assembly had been raised. The second prototype flew in October 1939.Green 1962, pp. 10–11.
Operational history
Although testing was relatively successful, the French Navy had meanwhile decided that the torpedo-bomber reconnaissance role could be better met by landplanes, with the much faster Lioré et Olivier LeO 451, already on order as a medium bomber for the French Air Force, being chosen. On 9 September 1939, Bloch was told to suspend development trials, while on 10 December it was officially announced that no orders would be placed for either the MB.480 or its two competitors, the SNCAC NC-410 and the Loire-Nieuport 10.Green 1962, p. 11.
The first prototype was destroyed after colliding with a pier on Étang de Thau on 23 June 1940, while the second prototype was placed into storage in July, and was not flown again.Green 1962, pp. 11–12.
Specifications
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=War Planes of the Second World War:Volume Six FloatplanesGreen 1962, p.12.
|prime units?=met
|genhide=
|crew=5
|capacity=
|length m=19.1
|span m=23.50
|height m=4.6
|wing area sqft=884.8
|aspect ratio=
|airfoil=
|empty weight lb=15476
|gross weight lb=22050
|max takeoff weight lb=26455
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Gnome-Rhône 14N-2
|eng1 type=14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine
|eng1 hp=1060
|eng1 note=(right hand rotation)
|eng2 number=1
|eng2 name=Gnome-Rhône 14N-3
|eng2 type=14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine
|eng2 hp=1060
|eng2 note=(left hand rotation)
|power original=
|prop blade number=
|prop name=
|prop dia m=
|prop dia ft=
|prop dia in=
|prop note=
|max speed mph=205
|max speed note=at {{convert|1500|m|abbr=on}}
|cruise speed mph=174
|stall speed kmh=
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|stall speed kts=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed kts=
|never exceed speed note=
|minimum control speed kmh=
|minimum control speed mph=
|minimum control speed kts=
|minimum control speed note=
|range miles=1240
|range note=at {{convert|280|km/h|mph kn|abbr=on}}
|endurance=
|ceiling ft=23290
|g limits=
|roll rate=
|glide ratio=
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=
|climb rate note=
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|power/mass=
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|more performance=
|guns= 2 × 7.5 mm Darne machine gun (in nose and ventral positions), 1 × 20 mm cannon in dorsal mounting
|bombs=
:*2 × {{convert|400|mm|abbr=on}} torpedoes or
:*3 × {{convert|410|kg|abbr=on}} bombs or
:*5 × {{convert|225|kg|abbr=on}} bombs
|rockets=
|avionics=
}}
See also
{{Portal|Aviation}}
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Notes
{{reflist}}
References
- {{cite book |last=Green |first=William |author-link=William Green (author) |title=War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Six, Floatplanes |year=1962 |location=London |publisher=Macdonald}}
- {{cite magazine |last=Ricco |first=Philippe |title=L'hydravion Bloch 480: Il aurait pu être le Heinkel 115 français |magazine=Avions |date=March–April 2010 |issue=174 |pages=30–41 |language=fr |issn=1253-5354}}
External links
- [http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9297&ID_CONSTRUCTEUR=213&ANNEE=0&ID_MISSION=0&MOTCLEF= Aviafrance]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120421114756/http://fliiby.com/file/26844/5ss6q5e0wq.html Photo]
{{Bloch aircraft}}
Category:1930s French military reconnaissance aircraft